Okay, I’ll admit it. I am addicted to CW11 shows like One Tree Hill. So I was a little intrigued when I saw previews for the newest addition to the CW11 line-up: The Vampire Diaries. I haven’t jumped on the whole Vampire Bandwagon just yet, so I wasn’t quite sure what to think.

But now I’ll definitely give the show a try since the CW Network, Alloy Media + Marketing and the American Red Cross are joining forces to host blood drives at more than 230 of the country's high schools and colleges. The "Starve a Vampire. Donate Blood." campaign will run for five weeks with a goal to collect more than 3,400 blood donations.

On Sunday, August 16 Sergeant First Class William B. Woods, 31, was killed in Afghanistan.

I got a hair cut about 10 days ago, but the stylist ignored what I asked for and free lanced all over my head. Cut too short, my naturally curly hair erupts into an afro at the least excuse. Humidity is a dandy excuse; when ISN”T it humid in Missouri? I’ve pretty much been wearing a hat ever since. 

 Arriving for my DAT shift I was excited because Friday nights were supposed to be THE night for fires. Which I wanted, seeing how I had been on two rides before with no activity. While listening to the radio we kept hearing a dispatcher talking about a commercial fire at a salvage yard and noticed they were calling out quite a bit of equipment. It was a massive fire at a car salvage yard! Our team leader for the evening decided to call the dispatch to see if the chief wanted us to canteen (that is, provide water and snacks for the emergency responders.) We listened on the radio as she asked and had to laugh when we heard one of the firemen say “wondered when they were going to call.”

Next time someone tells you that your ‘Tweeting’, ‘Facebooking’, and ‘YouTubing’ is a waste of time, you just let them know that your addiction to social media is potentially saving lives.

Our disaster services department is hard at work everyday making sure the St. Louis Area Community is prepared for disasters. That’s why it came as no surprise when our Disaster Warehouse Manager, Tony- while brushing up on his disaster research- shared with me some great information from the United Nation’s Risk Reduction Conference earlier this summer.

Six years ago today, 22 people were killed in a bombing at the United Nations Office in Iraq. Unfortunately those 22 are only a handful of those who have died throughout the years working to promote the humanitarian cause. In an effort to commemorate the lives that have already been lost, celebrate the humanitarian work that’s being done today, and focus our attention on the challenges and people who still need our help, the United Nations established World Humanitarian Day, observed today, August 19, 2009.

In my personal observation of World Humanitarian Day, I thought it was important to take a minute and salute all of the humanitarian organizations across the globe striving to make our world a better place. And it only seems fair to give a big ‘thank you’ to all of our local humanitarians- the St. Louis Area Volunteers who...

Thank you all for your help on Sunday!

Even though I see fires everyday, it really is something different when it happens close to home. I couldn’t believe it when I woke up Sunday morning to screams for help coming from the building across the street. I saw the fire engines pulling up and immediately reached for my phone. When Cynthia answered, she politely and calmly took my information, reassured me and dispatched the DAT.

As I headed outside with bottles of water from my disaster supply kit in tow, I began distributing them to my hot and scared neighbors. Within 10 minutes of my call to Cynthia, I saw the DAT

When it comes to Billikens, even Saint Louis University ponders the origin of their mystic little mascot. But the one thing everyone can agree on is that a Billiken is a symbol of luck. And while the Red Cross loves good luck, we also cherish a little thing called preparedness. Luckily for us, so do the Billikens…





Click "Read More" to watch the video...

As students go back to school this year, they will be going back with one major change as far as their school's blood drive is concerned. Starting August 31, all high school students and anyone under age 19 must meet new weight and height requirements to donate blood.

High school students and individuals under age 19 must weight at least 110 pounds.  Males under 5 feet tall and females under 5 foot 6 inches, must meet a higher weight restriction based on their height.

It’s been a sad week here at the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter. Last Wednesday, we learned one of our family members had lost her battle with cancer. Jackie Trice had served for more than 20 years as an administrative assistant in both the East St. Louis Service Center and then in the Metro East Service Center.  “Jackie was an advocate for the clients she served and often times we would receive letters thanking Jackie for her support and care given while they were being served by the Red Cross,” said Cindy Erickson, chief executive officer of the St. Louis Area Chapter.

Three cheers for Dellwood Lifeguard, Michael Heitert! Tonight he is receiving the National Certificate of Merit for saving his friend’s life last summer. Here’s what happened:

On Monday, June 4^th, 2008, Michael was at the Dellwood Recreation Center participating in high school swim practice. As part of the practice, swimmers were diving off the block, trying to dive over a kickboard in the water. When Eric Springli dove in the water – his head hit the pool bottom.

After being killed in action almost 60 years ago, the remains of Sergeant Charles “Leo” Wilson will be flown home on Wednesday August 5^th. The date of Sgt. Wilson’s death is estimated to be on our about Nov. 27, 1950, five months after North Korea invaded the South, when the U.S. Army committed its first divisions to battle by battalion. Defense Department officials say a North Korean farmer found the remains  in 2000.

To honor Sergeant Wilson and to show support to his family during this difficult time, the American Red Cross will join the Patriot Guard and Airport police in lining the Cargo area of the airport when the flight carrying his remains land and while his remains are transported to his final resting place in Rolla.

Today we say goodbye to a dear member of our Red Cross family. Mary Beth Ohlms has been the Manager of Health & Safety Services for nearly 10 years. Among other things, Mary Beth makes sure all of our Red Cross classes are filled and have the right instructors; she also tackles the big challenge of organizing our "Community Hero" events (where mass groups of people get trained to save a life).

The first decade of the new millennium is almost over – and the group Save the Children is dubbing it the “Disaster Decade,” at least as far as the United States is concerned. From September 11, 2001 through present day, we’ve seen wildfires, numerous hurricanes, and mass school shootings. So Save the Children hired a research firm to look at the impact of disasters on children – and to see how all 50 states and the District of Columbia fared in making sure children are protected.

Red Cross is in the business of providing relief to victims of disasters and helping people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.

On Saturday, June 27^th, the Omega Center in St. Louis City and the Jackie Joyner Kersee Center in East St. Louis, IL served as designated sites for neighbors and friends to help Red Cross fulfill its mission – respond to emergencies.

The community came out to give life-sustaining blood – usually in low supply during summer months, and donors visited our booth to learn about the programs, services, and volunteer opportunities at the Chapter.

For the next few days, the St. Louis Area Chapter is playing host to a special guest -- Jerry DeFrancisco, the President of Humanitarian Services for the American National Red Cross. 

(Picture after the jump)...

There’s something about the word ‘lifeguard’ that instantly elicits flashbacks of David Hasselhoff patrolling the beach with his lifesaving ladies-their distinguished red bathing suits, sun-bleached hair, sporty yellow jeeps. If I put a conch shell up to my ear I’m sure I could hear ”I’ll be ready” singing in the distance. It’s something I won’t deny; I was a Baywatch fan. I loved that these “everyday superheroes” rescued people from shark-attacks, heart-attacks, and every other attack in between. For me, Baywatch made lifeguarding cool. And I almost forgot just how cool lifeguards really are. That is, until yesterday…

Not that I am admitting to playing computer games at work, but I found a very cool online game that teaches about earthquake safety. Even though we aren't on the coast, St. Louis is near the New Madrid Fault so we need to take this stuff seriously.

The game is called "Drop! Cover! Hold On!" The object of the game is to secure all the necessary items in the room before an earthquake hits - and one could hit at any time!

Have you heard about the new EHL program in International Services? Do you know how this new program differs from the existing IHL program? Are you familiar with either of these acronyms?

Well, let me be the first to admit that I too find myself lost in a wilderness of jargon and acronyms especially when learning about programs in other departments. But there’s very little that goes on in any department here at the Red Cross that isn’t in some way significant to the big picture, especially to the services we provide locally.

So if you know that IHL stands for “International Humanitarian Law” you might then ask the question, how is this important to the work of the Red Cross here at home? It may be trite to say, “It’s a small world after all”, but it is true that what happens “over there” is increasingly felt “over here”.

IHL is a body...

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This is a little something that I wrote and someone told me I should share with some people at the American Red Cross because it may remind some of the volunteers and even staff that even the smallest tasks that we do for others can have a HUGE impact.

I had cancer when I was in the 9th grade and I have started writing a book of short stories about my experiences with the horrible “C word.” When I was thinking of some of the different stories that I wanted to include in this book, one of the first moments that always comes to mind for me is the one when I was getting my chemotherapy treatments right around Christmas time. I have shared this story with a few family members and I have shared it with a couple volunteers here at the Jefferson County Service Center so..... I thought I would share it with those of you that have some free time and are willing to read this.

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Just a quick heads up: country singer (and Missouri native) Sara Evans will perform tonight in St. Louis at the All-Star Game. In case you didn’t know, Sara is a member of the American Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet. Along with other musicians, actors, and athletes, Sara helps support the Red Cross mission of preparing, preventing and responding to disasters by donating her time and skill to help highlight important Red Cross efforts.

Back in April, we announced a very exciting milestone for the Red Cross Ready Rating Program - Enterprise Rent-A-Car joined as our 100th Member. Today, I am excited to report we have surpassed our goal of 130 Members by June 30, 2009! Congratulations to the 134 businesses, organizations and schools that have committed to becoming better prepared. Click here for the complete list of Ready Rating Members.

Support the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter by dining out at Chili's Grill & Bar the entire month of July! Print the coupon and bring with you to any participating Chili's. Ten percent of your total purchase will be donated to the St. Louis Area Chapter.  Locations after the jump...

I just love these kinds of stories. Even though most people complain that TV news (especially local news) only covers "bad" stories involving crime and mischief, there are those special moments when TV has the power to show the best side of humanity. And I especially enjoy hearing local "good news" stories.

Last night, KTVI Fox 2's Jeff Bernthal reported on a Belleville man who used CPR to save a toddler who nearly drowned. The little girl was playing in a large inflatable pool in her backyard - and her floatie slipped off. When neighbor Dave Ludgate heard screaming - he rushed next door and knew exactly what to do. Watch the story for yourself:

Lately there have been many house fires in the area. Last Friday was no different; another family lost their home and all their belongings. Sometimes we feel so helpless assisting these people as we supply them housing, clothing, and food. We cannot bring back the lost memories which were in photographs or a special drawing made by a child. We see many tears shed and the fear of not knowing what comes next.

As someone with serious iPhone envy, I’ve paid attention to some of the cooler applications, or “apps” as they are called, that have been released. There’s an app to find a house to buy; an app to determine if the picture you are hanging is level, and even an app to help you lose weight. But I was still surprised when I saw a headline today about an iPhone app to learn CPR.

It was developed in the Seattle area, and although I can’t view it (‘cause I don’t have a iPhone) it apparently contains short 1-2 minute videos instructing someone how to perform CPR.

Chances are, you’ve seen at least a few of the ad nauseum commercials and public service announcements about the “D-TV Switch” – when television stations all over the country are switching their signals from “analog” to “digital.” While most people are covered by either cable or satellite (who will handle all the technical aspects of the change over for their customers) there are still millions of Americans who will be left without a TV signal.

The biggest concern for the Red Cross – keeping people informed during severe weather. Already in St. Louis this week, we’ve seen several rounds of strong storms and even tornadoes. It is also hurricane season, which impacts millions living along the coast.

This is no lie: the number of fatal home fires in Missouri is up significantly from last year. In 2008, the state fire marshal investigated 60 fatal fires all year. So far in 2009, the state has already had 50 fatal fires, and there are still six more months to go.

The number one cause of home fires: careless smoking. So if you do smoke, make sure you put those cigarettes out completely.

It is Friday, so I decided to have a little fun and see what would happen if I put our blog into a wordle. What's a wordle? It's a "word cloud" that should in varying propotions what words appear on a blog. So, here is ours (after the jump):

In less than 72 hours Hurricane Season will begin, and already an early arrival along the eastern coastline. Tropical Depression 1 looks to make only a “hello” wave and move off to sea.   Why am I thinking of Hurricane Season in St. Louis? Last year the remnants of Ike came through causing quite a stir, and the subsequent activation of even more Red Cross volunteers. Several volunteers were already in Texas and Louisiana assisting with Ike and Gustav, not expecting Ike to come into their backyard! The Red Cross was able to support the multiple, simultaneous disasters because of a dedicated group of volunteers who were willing to do their part helping their communities. 

Hi, my name is Lindi, and I'm a student at MICDS, a school located in St. Louis. I've been a member of the Red Cross Youth Corps since freshman year, and about a month ago, two friends/fellow youth corps members and I were invited to attend the National Youth Institute in Orlando, Florida. The NYI is a two-day conference where Red Cross youth get a chance to meet, network, and attend lectures and discussions about Red Cross history, leadership skills, and fundraising skills. We learned a lot from this experience, and even though I'm blogging about it two month late, the lessons I learned were so meaningful and memorable that I can still remember the top ten things that I learned from the trip:

All the votes are tallied, and the results are in: the Red Cross won 26 percent of the vote in the Target “Bullseye Gives” Facebook campaign! That means thanks to your more than 75,000 votes, the Red Cross will get $793,942. It was amazing to see how just through a viral e-mail campaign, the Red Cross was able to rally such amazing support from volunteers, donors, staff members and their friends. Facebook really is the new "word of mouth," isn't it?

After visiting family in Tulsa over the first weekend in May, I was called to be deployed to Fredericktown, MO for a disaster assignment: there were power outages due to storms. I went to Fredericktown with Roland Jackson, another Red Cross volunteer, on the ERV (Emergency Response Vehicle) where we met other Red Cross volunteers.

We first went to the feeding site that was at the First Baptist Church of Fredericktown, where the Red Cross had partnered with the Division of Family Services to provide meals. We served over 10,000 meals and snacks for the week I was in Fredericktown. In addition to the feeding site, services provided by the American Red Cross included distributing bulk items such as clean up kits, rakes, shovels and gloves.



The American Red Cross also sent outreach teams into the affected communities. The partnerships we saw were amazing!...

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Even though I work with pools year-round – teaching classes, inspecting facilities, training lifeguards, etc. – this is the time of year when everyone says, “Wow – I bet you sure are busy now that summer is almost here!”

Even though our Aquatics team is busy throughout the year, it’s true that there is an increased sense of energy from Memorial Day to Labor Day. That’s when most public pools open their gates, and kids around St. Louis flock to the water slides, diving boards and deep ends. And since May is Water Safety Month, I thought it might be a good time to blog about when parents should teach their kids to swim.

The Red Cross offers learn-to-swim classes for kids of all ages, but the youngest you can enroll is 6 months of age. That might seem a little too young to really learn anything, but it is a good idea to get kids...

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Congratulations!  With 5 days left in the Bullseye Gives campaign, the Red Cross has received more than 52,000 votes.

But as of this morning, the Red Cross is in 2^nd place, trailing to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by just 1%. Every vote increases our share of the $3 million contribution. Every vote helps people preparing for and facing emergencies. Your vote empowers you to change lives today.

Did you know that every 24 hours, an average of 21,000 people receive a blood transfusion from a Red Cross donor?  Let’s get 21,000 votes today in their honor. Login or signup to Facebook and go to http://www.facebook.com/target.

Did you ever go on a field trip to the Zoo or the Science Center? Spring was always the best time of year when I was in school because it was when we got to go on field trips to every sight and sound that St. Louis had to offer. But this past week, a new field trip was taken by our St. Louis Area Chapter YouthCorps members. Eleven of our YouthCorps members participated in a "CPR Day."

You might be asking yourself, "What is CPR Day?" Simply put, YouthCorps students devote a day to learning CPR and First Aid. What they may not realize is that by the end of the day they have learned how to prevent injuries, prepared themselves for an emergency, and...

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Just saw this hilarious "silent movie" that the folks at National Red Cross posted on Youtube.

Have you voted for the Red Cross on Facebook yet? Your vote = your donation. Right now, each vote is worth more than $30. Remember, you can vote once a day until May 25. The more votes we get, the more funding we receive to help people who need immediate relief and lifesaving assistance—in our community, across the country and around the world.

There’s no doubt about it, St. Louis is already home to one entire team of baseball All-Stars. Not to mention we’re about to be visited by even more when Busch Stadium plays host to the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star game on July 14th.

But that’s on the field.

Mother Nature gave us another reminder last night of just how violent the springtime can be. A severe line of storms tore through four states, including Missouri, spawning tornadoes. One in particular killed three people near Kirksville (the home of Truman State University).

The damage is extensive. Reports indicate that 30-40 homes are damaged, as well as a large car dealership. You can follow news reports of the tornado cleanup via Google.

Of course, the Red Cross is there. Right now, volunteers from the Capital Area Chapter and the North Central Chapter are working...

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Ok, Red Crossers.... now is your chance to help raise millions of dollars without spending a dime.

From now through May 25, Target is giving you the power to decide where a $3 million charitable donation will go. The American Red Cross is one of ten non-profit organizations competing for a portion of the multi-million dollar gift.

Target’s Bullseye Gives campaign is running through Facebook, where visitors can vote once a day, every day, for the charity of their choice.

Last night, the St. Louis Area Chapter held a fun event for some of our best donors, including members of the Clara Barton Society, the Legacy Society and our Corporate Partners. There was a Carnival theme, and the interactive "exhibits" showed off a variety of the services the Red Cross provides the Greater St. Louis community.

Check out the photo gallery from the night! And if you want to learn more about becoming a Clara Barton Society member, email Cathy Sullivan or call her at (314) 516-2290.

There is no "typical disaster" when on the Disaster Action Team (DAT). We usually deal with fires, although last spring we responded to quite a few victims of flash flooding. Many fires fall into some basic category. Kitchen fires are fairly common in many communities.  When we arrive we often have to help our client deal with their own self anger at having turned on the wrong burner or having left a pot on the stove and forgotten it.  If the food is unusable because of the kitchen fire we usually give the client financial assistance for a small amount of food until they can get their lives and kitchen straightened out. Electrical fires many times destroy bedrooms and other rooms in the house. We often need to provide "psychological first aid" to help the client come to grips with the randomness of disasters. When clothing is destroyed we often provide financial assistance to purchase some replacement clothing - many times our clients are standing outside their home in their "jammies and house slippers".  Fires are the usual responses for the DAT.

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When hunger pains start coming around on Tuesday, May 12, grab a coworker for lunch or a friend for dinner and head to Culver’s to help the Red Cross. Next Tuesday, your neighborhood Culver’s will donate 10% of all sales to the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter. Enjoy a delicious meal, benefit a great local cause and feel good all over.

With the recent wave of concern over the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, I’m sure many of us find ourselves swaying between concern for what it means for us on one hand and information overload on the other. Clearly we have health concerns close to home, but taking precautions can help us fight the flu.

However, around the world, there are still thousands of children who die every year from an all too common and very manageable disease – the measles. This loss of life is made all the more tragic as this is a vaccine preventable death, with the vaccine costing less than one dollar. But to these children and their families, one dollar is one too much.

That’s where the Measles Initiative...

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On a day like today, I can only wish it was a little sunnier and warmer so I could swim outside. Just a few more weeks and the pools will be opening, and who better to talk with about water safety than Red Cross aquatic specialists, Laurie and Kathy. They decided to buddy up to bring you their top five water safety suggestions. Check it out.

While all the local TV stations did segements last night about our Lifesaver Awards ceremonies, today John Fuller did another segment on KPLR's Noon newscast. Check it out:

I confess right now that my least favorite part about teaching First Aid and/or CPR has always been the segment on handwashing. That’s because the students’ annoyance is absolutely palpable.  Don’t get me wrong, they’re always very polite, but those 12 sets of eyes on any given day make clear their feelings on the subject: “You gotta be kidding! This is a lifesaving skill? Come on… let’s get on to the good stuff I’m paying for.”  

So, “Yes,” I sheepishly nod and say, “handwashing is a standard precaution in the prevention of disease transmission.” In fact, this simple effort is so important, there’s a 4-color skill-sheet in the book to describe the process. Then, despite their eye-rolling, I ask the class to turn to page 10 in their workbooks (“Grumble, grumble. Tell me something I didn’t know. Grumble, grumble,” I imagine the class protesting in unison. )

I bravely proceed to describe and demonstrate the correct way to wash one’s hands. With a straight face:

Turn on the water

Wet...

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The first time I went to Orlando, Florida I was about 5 years old and I remember two things about our trip. The first thing I remember was a pool at the hotel shaped like Mickey Mouse’s head; the second, a rollercoaster ride that scared me because I thought a train was heading straight at our rollercoaster (although it was just a light with a recording of train horns blowing). Many years have past since then, and this month I was given the opportunity to return to Orlando with 3 of our Chapter’s youth volunteers in order to attend the 4th Annual National Youth Institute (NYI). The weather was great but the speakers, opportunities for networking and leadership skills our youth volunteers and I learned for the 3 days were fantastic.

This year’s theme for NYI was “Empower our Red Cross.” Sessions included a town hall meeting with...

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This morning, the number of confirmed cases of swine flu stands at 91, according to the CDC. And while officially, Missouri and Illinois have not confirmed any cases of the H1N1 virus, there are suspected cases in both the Kansas City and Chicago areas.

Yesterday, the World Health Organization raised its Pandemic Alert Level to a 5 (on a scale of 6). Essentially, that means that the threat of a pandemic is imminent. But at this point, the situation is still classified as an outbreak. But the WHO is urging all countries...

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This morning, there are two big developments in the spread of swine flu. First, there are reports that “probable swine flu” is being reported in Illinois. The state health department says more than one case is being sent to federal health officials for confirmation. According to the Associated Press, “probable” means the Illinois Department of Public health has conducted tests on patients showing swine flu symptoms. One “probable” case is at a Chicago-area school. The school is being closed today.

The second big development is the U.S. is reporting its first swine flu-related death. This morning, the CDC confirmed a 23-month-old child...

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A virus can spread fast -- but hopefully, we can spread information even faster. Here are some common questions I've heard today in relation to the swine flu outbreak:

1. What is a “Health Emergency?”

The World Health Organization (WHO) is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters and monitoring and assessing health trends among other things. 

In response to the recent cases of swine influenza, the WHO has reviewed available data on the current situation and advised that many questions are still unanswered. Nevertheless, the WHO believes that the current situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. This means that the WHO is recommending that all countries...

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